


The Birdcage

by rossalupus



Series: all fall down [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: AU, F/F, Misery AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-22
Updated: 2017-01-10
Packaged: 2018-06-10 02:59:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6936508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rossalupus/pseuds/rossalupus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The wheels of fate are turning, and as always Team RWBY is at the heart of it all.<br/>There is something very wrong with the world, but once one enters the birdcage, everything outside it becomes irrelevant.<br/>Why worry about something you shall never see again?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Falcon pulled his jacket in tighter as he marched through the rainstorm, the howling winds chilling him to the bone through the thin waterproof. All the merchant stalls where shut this late at night, but there was one place in Outback that never shut.

Badgers tavern was as far from a tavern as a mouldy piece of bread was to a 5 course meal. But it was warm, and dry, and served drinks strong enough to make you forget where you where. It was a hub for newer scavengers, those not yet confident enough to go deeper but still determined to get a profit. Badger always had a job or contract, and was the only man in the Cage to buy relics and kit at a fair price.

Falcon tackled the door open, spinning on one one foot to catch it and slam it closed again. Its latch had fucked up years ago, but no one had ever thought to replace it, so you had to break your shoulder every time you wanted to get in.

Nodding over to badger, Falcon took his usual seat at the bar and caught the drink that was sent his way. Turning to survey the bar he noticed it was emptier than usual, usually around now that the young ones would bust through the door with the days pickings. Yet apart from the usual broken men who sat in their corners staring into empty cups, he was the only customer.

"Something big happen while i was gone, badger?" 

The barkeep set down the mig he always seemed to be polishing and scratched his chin in thought. "Well i heard something about a crash near the pits, another Atlean drone probably."

downed drones where the best source of military grade ammo shy of stealing it from the military compound, and a heck of a lot less likely to get you shot or hung. The Rookies would sell off everything they found then run off deeper into the cage, and none would return.

You only lived as long as the Birdcage allowed you to, she claims everyone in the end. Even legendary scav's like Stalker and Layman had lost their lives here eventually. Falcon was rather particular to keeping himself alive, and so he sat at the bar as he did every night, sipping his drink, and watching the bright eyed youths rush to their deaths.

Such was life in the Cage.


	2. A harsh introduction

Ruby scanned the area carefully, it had once been some kind of factory, but it looked to have been abandoned yeas ago. The rusted machinery and empty buildings reminded ruby of a giant skeleton. Off in the distance, across a field filled with forgotten construction materials was a plume of heavy black smoke. The bulwarks crash site. Ruby knew she had to get there, but she couldn't just waltz straight across. She was in unknown territory, and if her experience was anything to go by the easiest path was usually the one that got you eaten alive.

Keeping away from the road, ruby slowly made her towards the factory, it was surrounded by a rusted wire fence, broken every hundred meters by a solid concrete column, not that the concrete had stopped someone from cutting out a man sized hole in the fence. A low warble caught her attention as she edged closer, it was nothing, little more than a shift in the air, but it still made ruby feel uncomfortable. the air around the hole seemed to shimmer slightly, like the air around a flame. she wondered if perhaps her concussion was worse than she thought, or maybe she wasn't hallucinating. An invisible hazard was not something she was hoping for but it could not be discounted, and Ruby was in no position to tempt fate, unarmed and alone. She would take the long way around.

The main gate was guarded, two men in blue anoraks and jeans, one wore a balaclava and the other a worn red beanie. Both where armed, though Ruby did not recognise their weapons. They looked old, with worn stocks and discolouring on the barrels, though the fact that they where still in working order was a testament to their hardiness, or maybe they didnt work and the guards just used them for intimidation. No, that was just wishful thinking.

The real question was whether they were friendly. Ruby hated assuming things about people, because she usually misjudged them when she did. But the one in the beanie had a large scar and smoked a cigar, and both had a skull painted onto the arms of their anoraks and the stocks of their rifles, so they where giving off a bit of a villainous vibe. That didn't mean they couldn't be bargained with. There would be a lot of loot on the crashed Bulwark, perhaps if she could convince them to let her talk to their leader, they could come to an agreement. yet there was still the chance they would put a bullet through her skull the moment they saw her, or worse. 

The masked guard jerked sideways, blood spraying from his neck. The other barely had time to notice before another bullet whipped through the air and took off the top of his head. His cigar fell into the mud with a hiss, and after swaying for a moment, he toppled down after it.

Two figures burst from the grass, sprinting across the open road and diving to cover by the wall, mere metres away from her hiding place.

Both were clad in green leather jumpsuits and ballistic vests, with hoods and old military surplus gas-masks covering their faces. both carried the same rifles as the guards, though theirs were heavily modified and painted with the same emblem as their armour, a white crosshair. They rested their rifles against the gates concrete pillar and one unfolded a map he had pulled from his belt. The other pointed at the map with his little finger and said something to his companion, but they where too far away for ruby to hear.

Her Curiosity sparked, Ruby inched towards the Duo, careful not to alert them in case they weren't as friendly as she thought. only for something to crunch beneath her foot. One looked over his shoulder and shushed her, before turning back and continuing to talk. 

Ruby's shock quickly subsided, she'd never been one for sneaking, so it was no surprise they had seen her. Though it was a relief to know that they where at least impartial to her if not amiable. After a few more minutes of pointing at the map and mumbling to each-other the men reached seemed to reach an agreement, stowing away the map and shouldering their rifles. They dragged the guards bodies into the tall grass, and one of the men began to dig through the dead men's possessions. The other was staring at her, at least she thought he was, the tinted visor of his gas mask made it hard to tell. Only when the other man nudged him did his gaze waver, and without a second glance he turned away and followed the other man through the gate. Leaving Ruby alone with the looted corpses, and a rifle, leant against the concrete tower that supported the gate. The rifle had belonged to one of the guards, and it was probably older than she was. But it was a weapon, it was heavy, and cold, and wonderfully familiar. Though now she was indebted to them, which meant returning the favour. With a quiet laugh at her predicament, Ruby cocked the rifle and followed them through the gate

\----

The outer Parts of the factory were filled with bandits, but the duo paid them no heed, heading straight for the biggest building. An ugly redbrick carcass, with half collapsed chimneys poking out of its rotted shingle roof like horns.

The door was a wreck, the thick metal warped and twisted. Inside it was almost pitch black, the factory had no windows and the power must have gone out a long time ago. The only light came from an emergency lamp that still flashed, illuminating the skeletal remains of abandoned machinery with a sickly red grow.

Slowly, silently, they stepped deeper into the darkness. Pausing ever few steps to wait the emergency light to illuminate the path. The rifle was a reassuring weight in Ruby's hands, and the presence of the two skilled soldiers was a further comfort. After they had done whatever they were here to do they would be more than helpful in her search for her team-mates. But it had to be an even trade, she would have to help them now if she wanted their help later. So she listened intently for any signs of movement in the darkness, and kept her finger hovering over the trigger of her rifle.

Something wet hit her face, something warm, and coppery.  
Oh no.  
There was a thump, and something growled in the darkness, right in front of her. pulling the trigger, ruby saw a horrifying creature illuminated in the flash of gunfire. Its flesh was pale as milk, with large red eyes, a wide maw filled with thousands of needle like teeth, and unsettlingly human hands that ended with long claws that burst from the tips of its fleshy fingers.

It recoiled with a screech, stumbling away from the ruined corpse of the soldier. The man ignited a flare and the thing sprang away above the machinery, swinging between the rafters to flee into the darkness. 

The man crouched by his fallen ally, one hand resting on what remained of his chest. Then he stood again, pulling off his mask, taking a rifle in each hand and clenching the flare between his teeth. In the brilliant light of the flare Ruby saw he was crying.

They advanced in silence, following a trail of blood between the massive containers and machinery that caught the shadows in a way that played tricks on Ruby's eyes. Another screech broke the silence and the man replied with a cry of his own, emptying both his rifles into the darkness.

There was rumble, and the factory was lit up by an explosion. Tossing aside her rifle, ruby grabbed the man and ran. The flames kissed at the back of Ruby's legs, and adrenaline rushed through her. An instant later they where outside in a storm of rose petals. Ruby fell to her knees and let out a groan as her muscles finally registered the extreme spike in physical activity and flared with pain. The man was very heavy and moving him at such speed had been hard work.

The man was staring at the burning building, mouth agape. Ruby knew he would be in shock; it wasn't every day you lose someone close to you after all. But if they didn't get moving the bandits would find them when they come to investigate the explosion. Had there been fuel in there or something? Ruby didn't know what kind of fuel caused such an explosion, high concentrated dust perhaps? It didn't matter, the earlier silence had been replaced with the crackling of flames and a strange whirring, and further away, the cry of bandits as they realised the factory was ablaze

Rising to her feet, she hooked the man under his arms and pulled him up, before leading him away from the blaze. Her muscles screamed for her to slow down, but she knew that the bandits would put a bullet in her head if she did. she couldn't die, her team needed her.

They took cover behind a half collapsed outhouse as a group of bandits rushed by cursing and screaming. The man was calmer now, his breathing steady and his wits beginning to return. As the bandits faded into the distance he unholstered his pistol and took the lead, motioning for her to make a break for the next spot of cover a few yards away. 

Ruby rose and sprinted across the gap, only to slam straight into a wall. But there was no wall, she was running to a rusting digger in the middle of an empty plot. There where no walls in empty plots, hence the "empty" part. 

Instead she had collided with another soldier bearing a different symbol, a wolfs skull. The soldiers armour was thick and lined with a mess of metal rods and motors, the source of the whirring she had heard. In his hands was the ugliest gun she had ever seen, a chunk of metal with a hole in one end and a trigger at the other, with a rough hewn wooden stock and a large revolving chamber filled with oversized dust cartridges that glowed like tiny supernovas. she noticed he had a name tag stitched into his armour. Chariot. 

Chariot helped her to her feet with what he probably thought was a friendly smile, and motioned to the man to follow them. He gestured for them to stay silent, then pointed to the black smoke rising in the distance with a raised eyebrow. Ruby nodded hurriedly, and like that, they where off towards the bulwarks remains.

Now void of distractions, Ruby began to worry about just what they would find at the crash-site.

\-----

Chariot raised his rifle as they neared the smoking wreckage, motioning for both of them to stay back as he approached. The bulwarks door was bent out of shape, but with a hefty kick he knocked it off its railings and strode into the darkness. There was a familiar hum, and Chariot was sent flying out, hitting the ground hard and skidding across the dirt. A glyph appeared below him and he was blasted into the air with an almost childlike wail. He stopped in mid-air and more appeared around him. Enough fire glyphs to roast him inside his armour.

"Weiss!"

The glyphs vanished and he dropped, hitting the ground with a loud clank. A petite figure emerged from the wreckage, her borrowed clothes torn and bloody and one eye swelled shut, but very much alive. She looked almost as shocked as Chariot did.

Ruby tackled her partner and pulled her into a hug, probably a bit too hard, but she was so happy! She'd spent the trip from the factory worrying about her team, and had ended up terrified that no one else had survived the crash. But Weiss was alive! and annoyed!

"Too tight" she gasped, banging on Ruby's shoulder.

Releasing her from the bear hug, Ruby turned to introduce her to her companions. But the man had gone, leaving only Chariots who was still spread-eagled in the dirt.

He smiled innocently up at Weiss, who glared daggers at him.

"You almost took my head off with that door." She was wielding a metal pipe in place of Mysentar, coupled with her injuries and trademark scowl she was quite the intimidating sight..

"I'll knock next time, now could you stop staring and help me up."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> unlike the prologue, i will try to make all chapters in the bircage longer.  
> also the story asa whole is longer, so this will be good. hopefully.


	3. Friction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weiss is angry  
> What a fucking suprise

The first thing Weiss noticed as they entered the Barn was the smell. The air outside had ben clear, with a slight hint of zinc that hinted at a storm to come, but inside the air was heavy with a ripe stench that almost made her gag. The Camp that Chariot had talked about looked to be abandoned, the fire was dead and apart from a few rusty cans and broken crates, empty. Then as he switched on his headlamp she saw their feet.

They where stripped naked, their flesh bloated and green, with their feet and hands black and rotten. Weiss finally lost her stomach when she saw their eyes, or rather the stakes driven through them.

With a violent contraction that knocked Weiss to her knees, the sparse contents of her stomach emerged, splattering the barn wall with a virulent brown. Weiss squeezed her eyes shut and sucked in deep breaths of the putrid air, her whole body shaking. Her nerves pulsed with a base emotion, an animalistic desire to flee what it didn't understand. Then Ruby was beside her, holding back her hair and rubbing her back. Calming her frayed nerves. After a few moments, When her breathing had slowed and the world no longer spun, she let her partner lead her out of the barn. Away from the grotesque display.

As soon as she was sure Weiss was fine, Ruby had headed back into the Barn, Weiss could hear her and Chariot arguing quietly as they searched the barn. Chariot had said that there was nothing in this area that the People who stayed here didn't know about, and if business in this place was anything like it was in Atlas, then it was information that killed them. They knew something they shouldn't, so they where silenced, and their bodies strung up as a warning.

But all this really meant was they had wasted time they should have spent searching. Blake and Yang where still missing. With the severity of their injuries even before the time stopping bellhop had kicked them out a burning bulwark, it was beginning to feel less like a rescue and more like a retrieval. Though Weiss knew Ruby wouldn't consider that for a moment, she was stubbornly optimistic.

There was a crunch of dry grass as a man she hadn't noticed walked past her. He glanced over at her when she cried out in surprise, before entering the barn. Moments later he tumbled back out as the barns wall exploded, causing Weiss to jerk from her perch in surprise. Ruby and Chariot appeared at the Barns entrance, their rifles trained on the man, who paused mid rise as Chariot reloaded as noisily as possible.

He wore a dark green Jumpsuit that reminded Weiss of the Hazard suits used by Schnee corps Scientists. An old military issue respirator covered his face, deep claw marks revealing the bright metal beneath its matte black coating. Apart from a pistol holstered on his belt, he was unarmed.

Chariot shared a worried glance with Ruby, before both lowered their weapons. Knives lodged themselves in Chariots armour as the man kicked back, tumbling down the hill and crashing to a stop against a rotten wooden signpost, which cracked and toppled over. He cast a final glance up at the hill before breaking into a sprint.

Ruby moved to give chase, but Chariot seized her by the shoulder, the opposing forces almost caused both to fall.  
"What was that for?" Ruby groaned as she massaged her shoulder. Chariot did not answer at first, ripping the daggers out of his chest as he watched the Man vanish over the horizon.

"Do you know where we are?" He asked, turning to stare down at the huntress’.  
His scars were long healed, and yet they still held the sickly pink tinge of fresh scar tissue, warped and rippled flesh that had never been stitched or treated, creating a horrifying visage that caused a feeling of abject fear blossom in her gut.  
His eyes, the last truly human part of him, shone with an unreadable emotion as both Huntress shook their heads.

  
"Then you could be forgiven for not knowing its history. I'm not too much of a history buff myself either, but I can give you a Short version."

Ruby opened her mouth to protest, but was cut off by a sharp tutting.

"Save your questions for after the lesson, students."

Of all the weird things Weiss had done as part of Team RWBY, having a history lesson from a murderous stranger leaking blood from numerous flesh wounds in the middle of an apparent warzone next to a barn filled with corpses, was quite high on the list. Tied with hunting for Dragons in vale's sewers as part of Port's elaborate Graduation prank, though Weiss would rather spent a year in those sewers than another moment here.

"So i guess i should start at the beginning"

Chariots previous excitement had given way to a nervous twitch and a half smile.

"Well, actually then this would take too long."

  
He paced back and forth for a moment, tapping the bridge of his nose and murmuring to himself, his armour whirring noisily with every step. Weiss shared a confused glance with her partner, who had sat down on a barrel while Weiss had retaken her perch on the edge of a boarded up well. Ruby shrugged.

"Alright!"

Chariot rubbed his hands gleefully.  
"First things first, you're not in your precious kingdoms anymore. NO QUESTIONS. You're now on an island to the west of Atlas.

Now, tell me, do you know why Atlas' military had improved so much in the last 25 years?  
Don't answer that it was rhetorical I'm about to tell you put that hand down.  
Well, its because they where at war for the first 15, with us. Yeah, didn't know THAT did you?  
This place cropped up in the first year of the war, though no one took much notice of it until an entire Atlean Legion vanished.  
It was around this time Atlas realised these islands where not worth their weight in corpses, and withdrew."

Chariot paused, noisily sucking in air.

"Now, this goes on to why i didn't shoot that knife flinging Cunt.  
Firstly, Its against my code of ethics to shoot a man in the back.  
Second, and more importantly, he's headed right into a bloodletter den and there was no point in wasting ammo. Also this whole speech was just to keep you occupied long enough for him to get killed so you wouldn't guilt me into helping you save him."

Weiss felt her chest tighten as she slowly edged towards her weapon.

Her father would have agreed with him, but she was not like him, she had a heart. The thought of leaving someone to die for the sake of a few rounds filled Weiss with an emotion that was almost alien to her, Rage. She had disliked Chariot before, but his actions at the crashed bulwark had been unintentional, this was too far.

Chariot was watching her, one hand resting on a pistol at his hip. Waiting patiently for her to give in to her anger. He didn't look like he did because he was friendly. His features evidence to the countless battles he had fought. He was the kind of person who tried to get into fights, it wouldn't matter if there was an actual disagreement, he would make one. It was obvious now that this had been his plan from the beginning.

A titter ripped through the uneasy silence. Despite how quiet it was, despite its seeming insignificance, It took Weiss breath away. All the anguish of the last few days was forgotten in that sweet laughter.

For a single moment, the wheres, whats, and whys did not matter. The tightness in her chest loosened and she let out the breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding. She saw that Chariot didn't HAVE a pistol at his waist, he wasn't even looking at her. She felt tired, all her bumps and cuts flaring in pain as her anger faded.

Ruby rose from her makeshift seat and stepped up to Chariot, placing one hand on his shoulder and giving him a kind smile that made Weiss' nerves flutter.

"We're still going"

Stepping around him, she started walking in the direction the man had fled. Chariots face scrunched up and he looked as if he was about to protest. Then he sagged with a loud sigh and turned to follow her down the hill. Weiss followed behind him, one hand rested on her pipe. She didn't understand what had happened, but it made her certain that this "Chariot" was not to be trusted.

The Man could be their one shot at finding Blake and Yang, she wouldn't let Chariot stand in their way. If it came to it she was certain she could kill him, but part of her feared what would happen to Ruby if she had to.

Her partner had never been good with death, even of her enemies. Torchwicks death had shaken her to her core, and the Murder of her uncle Qrow had left her mute and joyless.

She had lost her spark, and Weiss had been terrified that without it, she would collapse entirely. It had taken them months and the combined efforts of team RWBY and JNPR to even get her to speak again.  
Two years later and she was back to her old self, the sweet bubbly girl who had become a hunter to make the world a better place, and Weiss would sooner die than let anything change that.

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, i had a VERY big chapter, and i ended up having to split it into two to make it work. But before i can post the second half we need some OPPOSITE POV! Fuck yeah!


	4. Meanwhile...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> some other POVs that i decided to pile into one chapter, gives a little bit of info on the overarching story of this arc, and even a small view of the Antagonist of the next 20-30 chapters.  
> also some new characters! don't get attached.

Crown had always trusted his dreams. As a child he had seen the birdcages creation half a world away, and ten years later those same dreams had driven him to find it.

Four stars fell from their perch in the night sky, plummeting down to earth with a blazing light. Where they hit the ground would shatter, and the cracks would spread like a web, running up the invisible walls of the cage until they reached its apex. He would always wake before it shattered, robbed of that glorious moment time and time again.  
Yet something had changed last night, the sky was lit aflame, and the stars had screamed as they fell. It had been a clear message, and that was why he was here. In the middle of a town bartering like a common scav, with the father of all scavs no less. 

Crown could barely contain his disgust at the wrinkled old bag of bones that fixed him with its offensively steely glare. He found it absurd that one so old could be so confident, but the man was the only way he could do what he needed to, so he would play nice. For now.  
"So how much do you want for them" Badger asked, looking up from the stack of files with a glare.  
Crown offered a friendly smile in return, shrugging lightly and pressing his hands down onto his knees.  
"Nothing"  
Badger sighed, and flicked through the pages of an aged manilla file.  
"Ok. So what do you want for them?"  
"I want you to do something for me."  
\-----

Noble lowered his rifle as his PDA came to life. A mission? Normally he wouldn't be much bothered with it, but it looked like chariot and his new posse would get to the remaining carrion brother before him, so another job was probably in order. Before another executioner comes along and steals them all.  
rolling into a sitting position he brushed the wet grass of his jacket before opening the new file and flicking through the details. The mission was simple, if perhaps more suited for a group of fighters or executioners than a lone scav. Find the four crash survivors and take them to Outback. It was suggested to keep an eye out for people with heavy wounds, particularly burns and lacerations, and those who wore unsuitable or outlandish clothing. All in all, it was looking like easy loot, though the unusually high reward might draw in others who wouldn't usually stoop so low as an escort mission. A bit of competition never hurt anyone though, and it wasn't like he would be running out of ammunition any time soon.

After a moment something clicked in the dozy scavs brain, and he scrambled for his rifle. Fixing his sights on Chariots companions he laughed. That was fast. Again something clicked and he realised Chariot had just stolen another fucking mission from him without even realising it. Bloody Executioners. Pulling back his rifle, he sighed. It couldn't hurt to negotiate.  
\-----

"Hit him again Bear."  
The lumbering man looked up, confusion furrowing his heavy brow in a way that made him look somehow stupider than usual.  
"I don't think he can take another one, Boss."

"I don't remember paying you to think Bear, I remember paying you to hit people. So hit him, or you'll wish you had."  
Bear nodded and turned smoothly into a full bodied punch that knocked the man down into the mud.  
Peacock stepped past him and crouched next to the fallen man, pressing two fingers to his neck.  
"He's still alive Boss, just knocked out is all."

"Good, now string him up."

Peacock cocked his head.  
"I thought you wanted him to spread the word, boss."

Both men flinched as he sighed.  
"You're not a smart one, are you peacock?"  
Stepping past them, he bound the mans legs and tossed the rope over a sturdy branch of a dead oak.  
"Words are wind, and people don't listen to the wind, do they Bear?"

"N-no boss, they don't" The giant of a man seemed to shrink as the boss passed him.

Peacock grabbed the rope and pulled, lifting the unconscious executioner into the air. A much easier task once stripped of their trademark armour. As he bound the rope around the trees trunk he noticed the twinkling of lights through the trees. Outback.

"They'll hear the screams though."  
\-----

Blake screamed, the rusted doors digging gouges across her fingers as she tried to force them open. It was no use, they where welded shut, and she was far too weak to do anything regardless.

Something had to be done though, Yang wouldn't survive out in the open for long. She was hardly breathing, and when blake had carried her it had felt more like a beanbag than a human being. She didn't know how many bones where broken, but she knew that they didn't have long. there was no way she could get help while trying to carry yang, she just needed somewhere safe to hide her while she searched. So far the pillbox was the only structure she had found that looked even half safe, but it was locked tight. 

Blake cursed loudly sank down against the wall next to her unconscious partner. She lay at an unnatural angle, her body twisted in a way that couldn't be healthy, yet what could Blake do? She couldn't even carry her properly with only one arm, and it had taken all her energy just to get them to this thrice damned pillbox. She had tried her hardest to survive, but she'd failed. In a matter of hours, the sun would set and the winter chill would sweep in and draw her into the long sleep. 

At least Yang wouldn't suffer, in her weakened state it would be over quickly. Casting her gaze around them she noticed shrapnel riddling the ground; reaching out she took a larger, knife like, shard and lifted it up to study its edge in the light of the evening sun. A terrible thought came to her, and she turned to her partner. She could make it quicker, she could end it now, save her the pain of freezing to death that no matter how quick was still an awful way to go. With a growl she threw the shard and laid a stinging slap across her own face, how could she even think of doing that? The only reason Yang was in this situation was because she had taken the impact for her. Wrapped her in a bear hug and slammed into the ground hard enough to break nigh on every bone in her body just to leave the weak cripple unharmed. She cursed again and slammed her head back against the concrete wall of the pillbox.

Later, she didn't know how much later as she was not aware she had ever fallen asleep, she felt hot breath on her face. Sluggishly opening her eyes, she was met with the sight of a ragged hound. It was grey with a shaggy coat spotted with bald patches, its mouth was filled with pointed yellow teeth, and its eyes were grey. Something wet tickled the tip of her nose as it sniffed her, then it growled. 

Running her hands across the wet grass Blake found what she was looking for. Gripping the shard hard enough to reopened the wounds on her fingers she plunged it into the hound’s neck. The hot blood that spattered over her filling her with fresh vigour as she continued to hack at its throat, until finally its convulsing stopped and she was able to push it aside into the grass beside her. Watching its final spasms, she felt a twinge of pity for it, before her Exhaustion caught up with her and she sank back against the wall.  
\-----

Blake awoke to find herself wrapped in something warm and rough that smelt of burnt oil. Opening her eyes for the second time she was pleased to see there were no hounds hanging over her. It was morning, and overnight the pillbox had transformed. The door was now part of a makeshift stove above a bonfire that crackled pleasantly. By the stove was a man in an odd suit of armour lined with wires and glass panels, with a similar hood pulled back to reveal a young man with dark coppery hair and eyes to match, set at contrast to his extremely pale skin. He was flipping thick slices of meat on the top of the stove, despite their greyish tinge the smell was heaven to Blake. he looked over and gave her a shy smile. 

"they're almost ready"

There was a crash from inside the pillbox, and another man emerged, this one clad in a suit of electronics and metal plates that whirred quietly with every movement. His face was covered by a full faced helmet, but his anger was evident. 

"how much longer with that meat, ghost?"

"two minutes"

"you said three minutes five minutes ago." the masked man grumbled in reply.

Ghost shrugged, "Did you find anything good in there?"

"All useless." He growled, his voice twisted into a metallic rumble by his helmets respirator. He held a dust vial up to the light before crushing it, igniting it with a half hearted pop. Letting the vials shards run between his fingers he turned back towards the pillbox, freezing when he saw she was awake.  
"How long have you had those ears?" He asked, his voice taking on a hard note.  
Blake couldn't see his face, but she felt there was definitely a correct answer to his question; she was too tired to worry about being wrong.  
"All my life."

He nodded slowly, then continued into the pillbox. Whatever tense silence had formed being shattered by more crashing. The young man sighed in relief, his hand slipping off a repeater resting on the log beside him.  
"Do they actually work?" He whispered, as quietly as he could. Blake nodded, and his eyes lit up in wonder. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, uncertain of what to say next, before cursing and rushing to pull the smoking meat off the stove.

Then Blake remembered Yang. Turning, she was relieved to see she was still there. Bound to a stretcher and wrapped in bandages, she was not looking good, but bloody bandages and jagged breathing was miles better than their prospects last night. Still unconscious she shivered violently, and Blake leaned in to pull up the rough green blankets that bound her to cover her bare neck. Noticing for the hundredth time just how many scars the blonde brawler had.  
A quiet voice in the back of her mind wondered just how many more she had now than a week ago, but Blake cast the thought aside, it was part of the job after all.

"Oh yeah."  
Blake turned to Ghost, noticing he had and contents into a ditch, where they lay smoking in the mud. He was holding a scroll, or something similar at least.  
"There's a contract out on you."  
Blake froze  
"What?"

"don't worry, they wants you alive. Though with all the crazy stories going around about hunters that's hardly surprising."  
He paused and waved a hand at the two of them.  
"That's what you are, right?"

"crazy stories?"  
That didn't sound good.

"Full of questions aren't you? I'm starting to suspect that's how you ended up here to start with."  
Blake opened her mouth to ask what he meant, but he stopped her with another wave.  
"I'm just digging myself a bigger hole here. How about we save the questions until we're safe?" He asked wearily. 

Blake nodded in agreement and he gave her another smile.   
Hollowing out a heel of bread he had taken from a backpack resting by the log, he stuffed it with the meat, which he had sliced up and coated in a strange yellow sauce out of a cork pot. rocking his heels back he rose from his seat and stepped around the stove, poking his head into the pillbox to call for the other man, before kneeling down beside her. The smell made Blake shudder, and she had to resist the urge to pounce on him and take the food by force as he unwrapped the bandages on her stump. she winced as the tender flesh met the air, but didn't look away. A colourful web of burns curled around what remained of her arm, which had come off just below the shoulder. the wound itself was black and bloodless, the only plus side of having your arm cut off by a flaming madman, she supposed, was that fire was great for cauterising wounds.

"well at least we know its not infected, though we'll have to cut a bit more off if you'll be wanting a replacement. gotta have nerves and all the like for that."  
Blake wondered what kind of prosthetic they could get out here, it seemed by all means rather rudimentary, cooking meat on rusted doors and scrounging for stashes of dust in long abandoned fortifications. Though the almost medieval setting was streaked with hints at something more advanced, the glaringly obvious one being the men's attire, which made them look like something out of a science fiction novel.

After humming a few more times and turning her stump this way and that, he finally relented and handed over the stuffed loaf, carefully re-bandaging the wound as she wolfed it down. After finishing up he rose again and returned to his perch by the fire, spearing another chunk of meat on a knife and taking a small bite, his eyes flickering to her ever so often as he ate. Blake wondered if he was surprised by how quickly she'd eaten the meat, but she wasn't in the mood to care about what other people thought. she was far more interested in finding out what was in that sauce, admittedly she wasn't even certain what it had tasted like herself but it had felt like her taste buds where melting. she hazily noticed he hadn't put any sauce on his own meat, he did only have a small pot of it to be fair, but it still stuck her as strange. she felt the need to ask him, but then again she was warm and fed and so very tired, and the only thing she really felt like doing was closing her eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will have a very violent death because chariot does not fuck around.  
> also we're gonna properly meet noble.
> 
> I can almost hear the cheers from my non existent readers!


	5. Hunters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the obscene delay.  
> I actually have 3 chapters finished i just.... Never get around to posting them? I guess....  
> Anyway internet goes off in 3 minutes so i'll only have time to post one, expect the others tommorow.  
> Hopefully

There was a chill to the air and Ruby was glad her insulated clothes had survived the fall in decent condition, because her gut told her the weather was due to get a lot worse in the next few months.

Not that She was planning on staying that long, all she cared about was keeping her friends safe. So far she hadn't done a very good job at that, but anyone who said that was all her fault was being more than a little harsh. Still, they weren't out of the woods yet. Well, they where, having come out into a plain dotted with rusting vehicles and decrepit factories, but that was beside the point that Blake and Yang were still missing, and with every passing moment the unthinkable becomes more and more... thinkable.

Distant gunfire pulled her from her thoughts, and she winced as an inhuman shriek answered it. Chariot didn't seem to notice, scanning the field ahead for any sign of their prey. His beautiful monstrosity of a gun gripped tightly in both hands. Not for the first time Ruby wished she had Crescent Rose, but her teammates where more important.

Ruby didn't know why the man had vanished at the crash site, or why Chariot had fired at the barn, but there was definitely more at stake than information. It hadn't taken long for her to realise the whirring noises she'd heard in the bandit camp had been Chariot, which just raised more questions. Obviously he had been following them, and he was probably the cause of the explosion, but that still left the how and why.

"Bollocks, thats just what we need."

Ruby followed Chariots gaze, and saw a man in a red jacket racing through the underbrush towards them, merrily hacking away at the grass with a curved machete. Reaching the bottom of the hill he tried to jump an overgrown root and fell with a shout.

Chariot sighed, "go make sure he hasn't cracked his skull open."

Sharing a glance with Weiss, ruby edged towards where the man had fallen. It only took her a moment to find him, but he was already getting up. Upon seeing her he straightened up and fell into a casual pose, crossing his legs while leaning back slightly like he was against a wall.

His leg strength aside he was an oddity to ruby, his face was so remarkably average that she felt that if she turned away she would forget what he looked like. Even his clothing was nondescript, dark jeans and a white t-shirt. His only distinguishing feature was the red leather jacket, which was probably how Chariot had recognised him from so far away. She wondered if anyone would notice if he got someone else to wear the jacket and pretend to be him.

"'Hey."

Ruby was so shocked she laughed, causing the man to jolt back and almost fall as he tripped over the root again. The second person she'd encountered that actually talked had an Atlean accent, what were the chances?

"You're Atlean." Ruby felt dumb as soon as she said it. What kind of first impression was that? No greeting, No introduction, just straight into the accidentally accusatory sounding statements. Luckily the man seemed to take it in his stride, giving an amused snort.  
"Guilty as charged, though you're no better miss Vale."

Ruby huffed, "thats not my name."  
"And Atleans not mine." He smiled lazily, slowly leaning even further back.  
"Well what is it then?" Ruby asked, half amused half angry, the usual war between the joker and the leader waging full throttle. Now was not the time to play games, but on the other hand laughing always made her feel better. Man, It was confusing being an adult.  
"If you must know my names Noble."   
The Leader roared in victory, raising the jokers metaphorical still beating heart above her head.  
"Its a pleasure to meet you then, Noble."

"Same to you, miss...?" Noble raised an eyebrow as he drew out the last s.  
With a start Ruby realised she hadn't introduced herself, and was silently thankful Weiss hadn't been close enough to hear, else she'd get a long lecture on acting Leaderlike.  
"Oh sorry I'm-"

Noble burst out laughing, cutting her off, and leaving her to stand awkwardly for a moment until he finally trailed off into a soft chuckle.   
"I'm screwing with you, of course i recognise the famous Ruby Rose." He craned his neck past her, back at Chariot and Weiss.  
"But unless Yang got a makeover with a Chainsaw and Blake got real tiny then i'd say you're two members short. Im guessing you'll want to find them."  
Ruby began to reply but he cut her off again.  
"Lets leave that for later though, a scav who dreams of the future rarely gets to see it."

Ruby frowned at the odd saying, she didn't know what a scav was, but he was right. They had to keep their head in the game, and their mind on the present.   
"Let's go then."

\----  
\----

Bloodletters where aptly named, with their lithe frames coated in blade like appendages and four curved tusks erupting from what had once been a mouth. What sickened Weiss was the rags some wore, the remains of military uniforms showing a familiar Emblem, confirming this places connection to her homeland. It didn't mean Atlas had been at war, they couldn't have been. This must have been a deserter who came here to find their fortune.

They climbed a hillside that crested to a flat rise studded with pointed boulders that reminded Weiss of the Conifer shrubs her father had outside his office. She wondered if the formation was natural, or if someone had actually taken the time to carve each one. Regardless, their points where worryingly Sharp. The twisted corpse of another Bloodletter hung from one of these points, Its Icterine ichor staining the stone. 

Chariot hammered the butt of his rifle into its head as they passed, audibly snapping its neck. Noble gave it another whack with a stick he had picked up in some odd attempt to make sure it was dead. Ruby stared straight ahead, and Weiss did the same, she didn't want to see another uniform. 

"We're getting close to the Den now, if he was still alive we'd hear his screams." Chariot stated casually, causing Weiss to physically cringe away from him in order to stop herself beating him over the head.

"How close" asked Ruby in her 'super serious leader voice', named as such by the red rocket herself of course. Weiss had noticed she was using the voice a lot more now than last time she had seen her partner, perhaps it meant she was finally growing up, or maybe she had just realised its effect on people. Weiss was glad of it regardless. She'd been told what to do her whole life, and Ruby's commanding voice filled in the hole left by her father. After a year in a cushy office job in Atlas this place had almost been too much to bear, but with Ruby to keep her focused she knew she'd be fine.

"Less than a metre." Noble replied nonchalantly. Igniting a flare and throwing it into the darkness ahead of them, watching it drop in the clawed out crater with a look of anticipation. Weiss felt that being this close to a place full of those vile creatures was worth more than a casual mention, but then again It wasn't like the man travelling unarmed by choice could be accused of being logical.  
Noble frowned.   
"Somethings wrong."

Motioning to them to follow he edged toward the craters lip. Pulling a large torch from his jacket, he waited for them to line up and aim their weapons into the crater before switching it on. The walls shone yellow, the Icterine fluid slowly pooling at the bottom of the crater, where many more bloodletters lay in a pile, their knife-like appendages shining in the torchlight. Only after a moment of horrified silence did Weiss clock onto what was wrong. All the Bloodletters were in various states of decay, some corpses little more than piles of bloody chunks.

"Someone got here before us." Chariot mumbled, half to himself. He was slowly turning on his heels now, scanning the surrounding plains for signs of his quarry.  
Noble wasn't so bothered, having sat down on the edge of the crater to pelt the corpses with pebbles.  
"Any idea who? I mean its pretty much has to be one of your Friends."  
Chariot hummed in agreement, his brow furrowed in thought as he stopped his scan to glance into the pit.   
"Theres not enough burns to be Rabbit, its too bloody to be Zulu or Yogurt. Maybe Chilcot or Hun."  
He spun back around and gripped his gun tight enough that the metal creaked in protest.  
"We have bigger problems than that though, Don't have the time to track this bastard down again."

Noble weighed a larger stone in one hand, before curving his arm back and hiking it down to burst one particularly ripe Bloodletters ribcage with a gristly crack.  
"You killed his brother, he wont run. Knowing him its more likely he'd try to get closer, probably go for the weakest first."  
He turned to look at her, and Weiss caught the glint of a barrel before the world went white.

The blast left her ears ringing and her vision hazy, and when her eyes readjusted she saw that Chariot had already charged past her towards the fallen man. Stamping on his arm to make him drop a knife, then pulling him up by his throat.

Marching back he thrust the man into Weiss' face, causing her to recoil in horror.  
"Apologise to her, Vulture."  
The man babbled out something half intelligible, before starting to beg.  
His voice cut off with a choke as Chariot tightened his grip. Spraying her with bloody spittle.  
"Don't waste my time, you fetid abomination."

"THEY WHERE ALREADY DEAD, PLEASE I-"  
He jerked as chariots grip tightened again, his face turning a deep crimson. 

"Shut up."  
He turned away from them and marched out into the darkness. Noble watched him go with a frown before shrugging, pulling out a torch, and following. Sharing another silent exchange with Ruby, she sighed as her leader shrugged, and followed on.

Chariot had stopped in the middle of nowhere, but both vulture and Noble seemed to see something she didn't. He was clawing at chariots arm, silently screaming in terror at some unseen horror. Noble was grimacing, but his eyes were glued to the scene.

Chariot straightened his arm, holding Vulture as far away from himself as he could to avoid his flailing limbs. Before taking slow steps forward. With each step the man grew more and more panicked, flapping around in Chariots grip like a landed fish, but he couldn't get free. 

Dead leaves danced around Chariots feet. That wasn't so strange in itself. It was the way they moved that had drawn her attention, like a puppet on strings the movements were jerky and exaggerated. Where moments before had been nothing now she felt something sinister in the emptiness before them. The fake wind was picking up now, getting faster and more urgent, tugging at vultures jacket with invisible hands. Chariot stood stoically as it rushed past, unaffected by the sudden intensity.

Vulture was screaming again, no longer trying to break free but rather hold on. Gripping onto chariots arm for dear life as his body rose into the air. With a final shout drowned out by the howl of the winds, Chariot let go. For an instant Vulture held onto nothing and then he was gone, lost to the storm of leaves and debris. With an audible crunch, the swirling scraps where forced together as the wind violently reversed, the pressured ball of wind bursting like a balloon while the debris did the opposite in some bizarre violation of the laws of physics. When the wind finally died, she saw something hanging, as if by invisible strings at its epicentre.

It looked like a stone, an uneven brown orb speckled with red and grey in a way that made it utterly unremarkable. In Fact Weiss was sure if she picked a stone off the ground it would be no different. Yet in that was the problem, there were no stones on the ground, everything loose had been sucked into the vortex and smashed into nothing, including Vulture.

Realisation hit her like a ten ton truck, and she almost retched again. The "rock" was everything that had been sucked in, put under unimaginable pressure, and the red specks.... Weiss felt her stomach roil, but before she could retch out what remained of her guts a flask was shoved into her face.

"This'll settle your nerves." Noble said with a friendly smile. At least his attempt was better than Chariots, Weiss thought with a shudder before taking the flask. Sniffing it cautiously she got a whiff of something akin to antiseptic gel crossed with battery acid, obviously Noble had never heard of the problem with spirits in metal flasks, or maybe he didn't care. At this point Weiss didn't either, and with a nod of thanks she drank deep.

\----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> starting to get a far more solid idea of what i want to do with this story, ao thats a plus.  
> Feedback is greatly appreciated.  
> Blake chapter coming tommorow.


	6. Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gonna add a bit more to the next chapter so it may not be finished today

Blake woke up alone. On a straw mattress covered in blankets in a room of bare concrete illuminated by a single bulb hanging from the ceiling. Looking down at her stump she felt something akin to sadness well up in her chest, but she didn't really feel it, only knew that she should. Perhaps she was still in shock, but if her nose was right the same stuff Ghost had put on her food was slathered on her stump under the fresh bandages, dulling the pain and her mind in a way that was oddly pleasant.

Despite being alone in what looked a lot like a prison cell she wasn't even concerned, which was beginning to concern her. This was one hell of a drug. Next to the mattress was a table with a mug of brown liquid and a line of brass cylinders sat on it. A sniff of the liquid revealed it to be coffee that had long gone cold but the brass cylinders where like nothing she'd seen before. The cotton shirt and trousers she'd been put in had no pockets, but there was a bare metal chair beside the table with a ratty jacket slung over it, so she threw that on and shoved the cylinders into the one pocket she could comfortably reach. Another scan of the room confirmed that she'd taken pretty much everything of value aside from the mug, but despite her thirst she didn't want to wake up in another hospital bed after drinking that sludge. Turning to the door she said a little prayer to whatever god was listening and pushed.

The door didn't budge. That was it, she really was a prisoner, they'd be back any minute to chain her up and sell her to the highest bidder, or maybe they'd kill her and cook her up for the next victim they came across. Or maybe they wouldn't come back at all, maybe they'd thrown her in here to starve.   
The room was beginning to feel very small, and she was sure she had seen something move in the shadows of the swinging bulb, something tall and lithe with a sword as tall as a man slung over one twisted shoulder. With screech she seized the chair, and spun to fling it at the door. The old wood shattered under the chairs weight and brilliant light filled the room, dispersing the shadows.

"Bloody Nora, have you lost the plot?"  
A man stood in the doorway with a Revolver levelled at her chest.  
"You can't be throwing furniture about when people are trying to sleep, you daft cow."

The sight of the mans weapon had kickstarted her brain, and Blake's mind began to clear.  
"Door was locked" she quickly mumbled, aware that taking too long to reply might get her shot.

The man frowned and looked around at the debris. His revolver lowered a moment later and he let out a quiet curse as he slid it back into its holster.  
"Did you try pulling?"

She hadn't. On reflection she probably should've, but drugs and fear don't mix well and she'd been so caught up with escaping the shadow monster with the giant sword and gaping head wound that she'd forgotten how to open doors. Realising the man was still waiting, she shook her head.

"I always tell him, don't put the unconscious ones in the creepy room, But NOOOO he sticks them full of drugs and leaves them to freak out by themselves." He sighed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "I guess we better go see if Ghost is still around then, he said he wanted to know if you woke up." He stepped out of the doorway and motioned for Blake to follow.

Outside of the shack was something akin to a town, if that town had been left to rot for 20 years perhaps. Every building was in disrepair, most patched up with corrugated sheets and raw wooden planks. She could hear a lot of people but few were outside, and as she stepped out she understood why. The wind was bitterly cold despite the jacket and the muddy ground coated her bare feet with freezing sludge. She shuddered and pulled the jacket tighter, speeding up to catch the man, who was marching at a brisk pace down what looked like a main street. Her feet ached from the cold and icy shivers shot up her spine but she kept quiet, as the mans hand was still firmly on his gun. 

At their brisk pace the walk was a short one. When the man finally stopped it was by one of the best kept buildings in the town and the only one to have been repaired with proper brickwork. To Blake it almost looked like it was in the wrong place, too well made and cozy to be part of this ramshackle town. Above the entrance was a sign.  
TAVERNE

The man raised a hand to stop her, before stepping back and charging the door. It shook on its hinges but didn't buckle. Growling he drew his revolver and pressed it against the door.  
"Whoever’s leaning on the fucking door better lay off before i send them arse over tit into their grave." He snarled, cocking his gun.  
There was a muffled noise from inside, before a loud thud sent the door swinging open.

Grunting in satisfaction he uncocked his gun and slammed it back into its holster. He turned back to her and spread an arm towards the tavern.  
"Ladies first." He crooned with a smile that perched on the fine line between sincerity and mockery. 

Taking a deep breath, Blake stepped in. The few people by the entrance stopped dead as she entered, gawping like children at a zoo, but for the most part the noise of the tavern continued. Gaggles of boys barely out of their teens sat in booths lining the walls, laughing and arguing among themselves, while older more serious men stood around small tables filled with notes, maps, and tools, muttering sternly as they worked. She noticed all of them were armed, though she wasn't certain how to feel about that. The man walked past all of them, few of which seemed to notice the new arrivals, to the a bar of dark wood polished to a shine. Behind it stood a man on the border of being middle aged, his jet black hair receding into a sharp widows peak and his doughy features beginning to sag. Like all barmen he was wiping a glass, pausing every few seconds to squint and breathe on it before continuing. He set it down as they approached, little black eyes flicking over her from behind a set of pince-nez. The man nodded to him, sat down heavily, and caught the drink that was sent his way.

Knocking back the drink, the man turned to survey the bar. He frowned when he saw her.  
"What you standing for? Come sit down, have a drink, we'll be here a while."

She moved to sit on the stool beside him, only for Ghost to get there first. Coming seemingly out of thin air, he hopped onto the stool and snatched the mans second drink as the barkeep sent it across the bar.

"Ta very much Badger." He said, nodding over at the barkeep, who smiled back at him. Leaning away from the mans grabbing hands he took a sip of the drink before wincing.   
"Blimey thats strong stuff. To hell with this, get me an orange juice."  
Badger nodded and stooped down to a small bare steel refrigerator. Ghost tipped the drink onto the floor, ignoring the curses from the man beside him, before taking the offered glass with a smile.

"Good to see you're still breathing Miss Cat."  
His eyes scanned her, finally settling on her bare mud-caked feet. He stared for a moment with a look of horror before setting down his glass and digging in a pocket of his odd suit, pulling out something that looked a lot like a pebble.  
"The girl looks a shambles, fix her up will you."

Badger snatched the pebble off the bar and pocketed it, before turning his tiny eyes to her again.  
"Follow me."  
He walked out from behind the bar and headed up a set of stairs. With a glance at Ghost, who smiled reassuringly, she followed. A final glance showed Ghost leaning over the bar to grab a bottle of liquor from the shelves and passing it to the moping man beside him.

\----

Half an hour later she came down the stairs feeling rather conflicted. when he had left her in a room with a tub of boiling water she hadn't expected him to come back with a brush. But she had fresh bandages, the clothes where clean and warm, and the boots and heavy socks where a godsend after her barefoot trek. Badger may have been rough and uncomfortably quiet but he was very thorough, he had even restitched the hood of the jacket to accommodate her ears and put the cylinders, apparently some kind of ammunition, from the other jacket into slots on her belt.

What had struck her was that he had almost no aura to speak of, little more than a hazy halo of light, nowhere near enough to read his emotions. Now she stood above them all she saw it was the same for almost everyone in the bar, from the roughhousing youths to the broken men staring into their cups. The only exception was the man, who's aura shook as he nursed from the bottle Ghost had given him.

Now not even those closest to the stairs looked up as she passed, she was just another oddity in a land with too many to count. Ghost was on his scroll again, typing rapidly with a grimace, and didn't acknowledge her as she sat down. The man on the other hand made the effort to drunkenly attempt to wolf whistle, before giving up and giving her a thumbs up.

There was a crack, and Badger set a bottle in front of her, before going back to polishing a glass. It didn't smell strong, but you could never be certain, and though the painkillers where wearing off she didn't know if alcohol was a good idea. Remembering all too vividly what had happened to Clement, before casting aside that train of thought before she remembered something she didn't want to. Despite her paranoia and their less than friendly appearances the men had been nothing but helpful, she should trust them with this as well. Steeling herself she took a drink.  
Sparkling water.  
Of course.  
\----

Halfway through her third bottle, Ghost snapped his scroll shut and sighed. He stared off into the middle distance, deep in thought perhaps, before jumping to life and turning to her.  
"So you wanted answers?"

"Wheres Yang?" Blake snapped, the water had started to go flat and the resulting stomach ache left her agitated.

Ghost raised an eyebrow and hummed sadly. "She's with Medic, still comatose, doesn't look to be improving any time soon. But You can ask medic when we go over there later, says he's busy right now."

"You drugged me."

"With the blon- er, yangs, injuries we couldn't afford to have someone slowing us down. Much easier for Wolf carry you unconscious."

"Wolf?"

"The big guy who was with me when we found you. I've been working with him for years so Im sure you'll run into him again."

Blake struggled to decide what to ask, if he was messaging this medic then they could have to leave at any minute, she had to choose the important things.

"You said there was a contract out on me?"

Ghost Nodded, "Someone wanted to find the survivors of the crash. Payed a pretty penny for it too. Don't worry though I'm not turning you In, It would be pretty stupid of me to give away the first hunter that anyones seen in years to a man who refuses to even show his face."

"Where am I?"

Ghost sucked at his teeth. "Thats a complicated one. On a larger scale you're on a peninsula of islands south west of atlas. Very far west. On a smaller scale you're in the anomalous entity known as the birdcage, a roughly hundred mile wide span of land in the middle of of the untamed wilderness of the northernmost island commonly known as the winter island due to how goddamn cold it is. On a smaller scale than that you're in Badgers Tavern, the only decent bar in the town of Outback."

"What's the birdcage?"

"A pain in the arse" the man cut in before ghost could reply. "We can come in, but we can't go out, so the only choices are either die painfully and alone or give up and drink ourselves to death anyway."

Ghost nodded, "what he means is that the birdcage is a one way thing. Once you're inside its like theres an invisible barrier stopping you getting back out. Technically anything dead can pass through it, so we can trade with the outside world, but its like passing stuff through the bars of a jail cell, or because this place is a dome, a Birdcage."

Remembering the cylinder, she pulled one from her belt and held it between them.  
"What is this?"

Ghost frowned. "I thought you Hunters where good with weapons?"

"I've trained with weapons my whole life, i've never seen anything like this." She pressed.

Sighing, Ghost drew his repeater and brought the cocking handle forward, exposing its inner workings as the ejection port slid open.  
"Its just ammo, you know, the stuff you stick in guns to make things far away go dead."

"I know what Ammunition is" she huffed, "what i want to know is why its all metal, Wheres the dust?"

His eyes lit up.  
"You make your projectiles OUT of dust don't you?"   
He began muttering to himself, laughing quietly.  
"This is simple then. The bullets just serve different purposes. Your designs are all based on killing Grimm, while we focused on killing each other! I tell you this is a real eye opener."

For him maybe, Blake hadn't understood half his ramblings, but at least the last bit made sense, firing bits of metal at Grimm might work for spread shot rounds like in Yangs bracers, but it had been made redundant centuries ago for single projectile rounds. She was beginning to grasp the basics of this place, even if it was by such convoluted methods. There was still one problem that nagged her though. One that couldn't wait for another time.

"How could a civilisation focus on killing each other, surely the Grimm were more of a threat?"

Ghosts scroll beeped, and he hissed. "We started so i guess we'll finish, a bit messy for a final question though."   
He paused and took a deep breath.  
"We don't have Grimm here."

"What?"

He shrugged, "Back in the old days there was this big crusade thing, and well basically, we killed so many that they stopped coming. I mean we have a couple here and there, but they sorta just hang around and mope. I remember there was a giant wolf one where i grew up that used to just sit and stare at the sun all day."

Blake wasn't sure if the new salve was making her hallucinate but what she was hearing simply couldn't be true. Humanity had fought Grimm since the beginning of time, they couldn't just stop coming, that was the point, they never stopped.

"Anyway, we need to go see medic, before he gets pissy."

\----  
\----

Ghost kicked open the door, pulling a still shocked Cat behind him like a sack of potatoes.   
"Hey medic, we're here." He shouted, knowing full well it annoyed him when people shouted in his office.  
Medic was somewhere further into the makeshift hospital, but his voice carried out.   
"For the last time. I didn't spend years of my life cooped up in dusty old libraries to be called a medic, I am a doctor."

Ghost rolled his eyes, "yeah, yeah, whatever you say. I brought the girl by the way."

With a screech the doctor skid to a stop beside him, pausing to push his glasses back up his nose and slick back his fading green hair.  
"Ah, stupendous. She's awake."  
He squinted up at her.  
"Or something along those lines, my my, what have you done to her Ghost? She's as white as a sheet."

That wouldn't stop him though. He started undressing the wound while still talking, working so fast his hands were a blur. When he had finished he nodded as if that brief glance had confirmed something important.

"So, until we get her an arm thats two of them out for the count. I can only hope the others are faring better."

Ghost frowned, "others ?"

"Hunters work in teams of four."  
The medic sighed  
"You really must listen more. How can a teacher teach if his student never listens"

"I only listen to the important stuff."  
Ghost retorted. Admittedly that mainly consisted of battles and political subterfuge, but it was Medics fault for teaching him such cool things.

"Buh"

They both turned to the Cat, who stared off into the middle distance.

"Buh?" He replied hopefully.

The Cat raised an eyebrow, before her eyes rolled back in her head and she toppled. Ghost moved without thinking, hooking his arms under hers and letting her fall back onto his chest.

"She okay?" Ghost asked, kinda worried for the girl. It was bad enough she lost her arm, and keeps panicking about everything. Now she was blacking out for no reason.

"Probably." The medic replied, wheeling back across the room to refill his thermos. Not for the first time Ghost was reminded that Medic had a doctorate in History. Cursing Wolf for never being there when he needed to lift stuff, he hoisted the girl onto a spare bed and sat on the chair beside it.

"Her name is Blake, by the way. Blake Belladonna." Medic was gone before he turned, but he still murmured out a thank you as he settled down on a chair beside the bed. After a moments thought he got up and went to rummage through the medics shelves, returning with a worn leather-bound book

"Well Blake, I hope you like stories."

\----


	7. Rest well

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stuff happens

"I'm not weak"

Weiss' half lidded eyes where fixed on noble with a look of drunken contempt that made Ruby collapse into a fit of giggles. Chariot wasn't too surprised, despite her stoic leader facade she was still a kid, and a slightly drunk one at that. He was thankful that Noble had at least waited until they'd made camp before getting everyone wankered. The light of the campfire would be enough to ward off the dangers of the blue zone, and the warmth would be enough to keep them all alive when they eventually drank themselves into a stupor. 

Noble was a lot better at holding his drink, but he also had a habit of drinking whole bottles between breaths, so while he wasn't red faced like the girls, his speech was beginning to slur.

"You're small though, like super tiny, you haven't got a gun, you're a girl, and you squeal when you talk in a way that really makes me wanna shoot your face off." He rambled, dozily staring into his empty bottle with a look of pure misery.

Weiss laughed, as drunk people often do, and fell off the log she had been using as a seat with a yelp. Drunk people never really understood threats, which had caused him some embarrassing moments in the past, but perhaps it was for the best this time. Her voice did get awfully shrill, especially when she was angry.

"People around here don't know what a hunter is, not really anyway. To them you're not a threat in the slightest, even if you could kill the whole lot of them with a flick of your wrist. They just see a little girl." he continued, tossing away the empty bottle.

The pain had sobered Weiss up slightly and now both girls where listening intently to Nobles rambles. Chariot felt the need to cut in.

"That goes for your friends as well, if and when we find them. Most of these men haven't seen a woman in years, so dont expect them to be reasonable." He fixed his glare on Ruby, who physically cringed away.  
"Especially Bandits. They wont even see you as human, just a hole. They'll tie you over a barrel and use you until you rot to pieces."

"Ruby has a chance though." Noble accosted "she's strong, so they might stick a collar on her and send her out to fight. Hell if its one of Grims lot they might even be civil."

"Grim's as much a Bandit as I'm a mutant. Him and his lot are a bit rough around the edges is all." Chariot replied, ignoring the girls drunken questions. he was in no mood to explain the long or short version of the birdcages history, geography, and politics to drunks.

"You lot should get some rest. I'll take first watch, Noble you take second. We'll move on to Outback at dawn." Not waiting for a reply, he unholstered his rifle and stalked up to a slight rise which gave him a better view of the surrounding area. The Blue Zone might be relatively safe but there was always a danger of something finding its way out from deeper into the Cage. That was why the Executioners motto was "constant vigilance".

Or maybe it was "Lets kill some shit", it really depended on who you ask.

\----  
\----

Ruby woke by a door. It wasn't a very interesting door, painted wood with a brass doorknob. Rather standard fare as far as doors went. The only real interesting thing about the door was what it was attached to, in this case utterly nothing. Infact apart from her and the door nothing else seemed to exist.

She didn't realise she'd opened the door until it shut behind her, and it took her brain a few moments to catch up before she surveyed her surroundings. Rather than being of set dimensions the room had instead decided to be whatever was needed. This was brilliant for the occupants, but it just made Ruby's head hurt.

On a throne of cardboard boxes sat a man she thought she'd never see again. His fangs glinted in the unearthly light as he laughed, before rising and spreading his arms in greeting.  
"Well if it isn't my number one fan! how's the jaw?"

She had forgotten all about how he had amateurishly relocated her jaw only a few days ago, but it didn't hurt and she was sure Leon knew that. Yet what did it matter what a man who she'd last seem holding in his own guts knew, because she was very certain he shouldn't have been able to know anything.  
"How are you still... Here?"

Leon snorted, lurching forward as he tried in vain to hold back a peal of laughter. His bellowing voice echoing off the ethereal walls.  
"Thats the joke kid, I'm not!"  
He broke down into laughter again, shaking so hard his makeshift throne began to topple.

"One imagines thou art the new ringbear'r"  
Ruby cringed as the voice echoed through her head, gasping in pain.  
"Ah, mine apologies, sweet huntress, I forget mine own strength."  
The voice echoed from behind the convulsing Faunus, who was still locked in a great fit of hysteria.  
From somewhere in the room came a man, or perhaps something more. He looked like the angels that some religions believed in, flawless ivory skin, shimmering Silver eyes, and a calm beauty that filled her with both reverence and fear. So perfect was he that she was almost certain he was unnatural. Even his height was disparate, standing well over seven feet and yet in no way gangly or overstretched, filling the form perfectly. 

"F'rgive me f'r mine own want of introduction, t hast been many years since i has't did talk to someone oth'r than Leon. "  
Clicking his heels he bowed deeply.  
"I am Knight Captain Almia of the kings circle, guardian of the first stratum, and bidden of the storm."  
He rose again and one perfect eyebrow arched.  
"May i enquire, who art thee?"

Scrambling to retain her composure and struggling to remember all of Weiss' etiquette lessons, she bowed before replying  
"I am Ruby Rose of Team RWBY, protector of Beacon, and..."

"thee nameth thine company aft'r yourself?" Almia cut in, his perfect features creasing into a frown.  
"thou must beest unfathomably vain."

For some reason the thought of Almia thinking bad of her sent spike of fear through her heart, and she quickly gave up on trying to talk like him and replied in her normal voice.  
"I didn't get a choice"

Almia stared at her for a moment, silver eyes locked on her own. Then he breathed out and his whole body fell slack, and he laughed. The laughter was awkward and sharp, completely at odds with his impeccable complexion and stature, almost like he was an animal trying to mimic the sound.  
"Fear not, It is merely a jest. I am doing a "messing" with you as Leon calls them."

Ruby glanced over at Leon, who sat with hanged head, still shaking with mad laughter.  
Almia nodded, and smiled.  
"He shall overcome this I am sure, I rememb'r a time when even I refused to acknowledge my own mortality, but given time Any wound heals."

His eyes flicked back to her and Ruby saw the emotion had faded from them.  
"I am afraid there is more to speak of than mere prattle and tomfoolery though Lady Rose. You and your fellows hath been drawn into the terrible twisted fate of mine long dead Homeland."  
With a twitch of a finger she was seated on a folding metal chair, the kind you'd find crammed by their hundreds into a room in the back of sports halls. Almia was sat on an identical chair.  
"I must apologise in advance, for I must search your mind before we go any further. This may take some time, and dawn is soon approaching, so I need thee to give me permission."

Ruby briefly considered refusing, the idea of someone knocking around in her head was disconcerting to say the least. Yet she didn't have much to lose and He might finally be able to give her the answers to the countless questions she had asked in the last few days.  
"Alright"

Almia smiled, and snapped his fingers.

\----

Ruby spring from a deep sleep, breathing hard. She looked around the campfire. Everyone else was still asleep, even Noble, who was splayed out on a nearby hill snoring softly. Her heart was pounding in her chest and a thin sheen of sweat covered her skin visible in the soft moonlight that illuminated the scene. Ruby was unsure wether what she had seen was a dream, or a vision. It was still so clear in her mind, the sounds and sensations had felt so real, so vivid, like she was actually there.

A mechanical Buzz shook her from her thoughts, It seemed to come from far away yet its power was still immense, the trees shaking and the air itself reverberating with its might. Then the only noise was the barking of wild dogs and the chirp of crickets. Her body yearned to sink back into the warmth of her sleeping bag, but she knew it was useless, she was wide awake.

Rising, she braced herself against the cold night air, quickly noticing that her gauntleted hand remained warm. In Fact, it was glowing, in the same way as the ring The Red Blade had given Blake. Her mind, still hazy from sleep, churned as she began to piece together some of the odd occurrences of their mission. It seemed the sword wasn't the only artefact to survive the fall. And if some part of the original owner was held inside a gauntlet, then the implications of the kings own sword being in the hands of the White Fang had grown ever more dire.

She trekked up the small hill to where Noble lay. To her surprise his eyes were open, and he stared up into the sky. Another scream split the nights ambience, a dreadfully human one filled with panic and fear coupled with the snap of wild gunfire, and she saw Noble flinch. Her own stomach knotted as the screaming continued, twisting into shrieks of pain and terror before cutting off.

Blinking the sleep from his eyes and rising to stretch, Noble noticed Her watching him and smiled sadly.  
"Welcome to the Cage."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weird shit, huh?  
> The same thing happened in the prologue to blake, but unlike her its going to happen more than once for ruby.  
> Thats right, a running theme  
> MY FIRST ONE!  
> *that you know about.....*


	8. A little chat.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake and Oobleck have a little chat.  
> Nothing weird, no ancient spirits in rings or balde covered mutants, just words.

"While In principle I agree its a good idea, as your doctor i would have to advise against 'trying again' as you so call it."

Blake lay in the warm cot, listening to Oobleck argue with someone in another room. She was too snug to leave the bed, and despite not being able to understand the other mans accent, Ooblecks side was amusing enough.

"The difference between you and Guard is that Guard was a professional weapon smith. Just be thankful we could save your eyes, and in future stay away from anything that superheats."

The man grumbled some more, but Oobleck was already moving away, his wheelchair squeaking slightly. The mans exit was signalled by the tinkling of a bell that she remembered announced the opening of the main entrance to the makeshift Hospital, just as Oobleck entered his Lab, screeching to a halt by the bed.

"This place never ceases to amaze me Blake, that man tried to make a knife out of thermite and almost blinded himself when the fumes made him sneeze." He laughed softly, shaking his head in awe. Sitting up straight he cleared his throat and pushed up his glasses.  
"I apologise for shocking you yesterday, but until i saw you with my own eyes i had no idea if it was actually you. I know I already had your partner in my care, but in this place you can never be too careful."

Blake smiled, feeling somewhat better now that she'd seen a familiar face. With all the crazy shit going on in the last few days she had become rather desensitised.  
"Its fine, Doctor, If anything I'm happy to see you."

Oobleck gave a thin smile. "Most of me anyway, eh?"  
He wiggled his stubs.  
"I could tell you wanted to ask. Its alright, after i got stuck here I realised it was more of a blessing than a curse. Can't go chasing Grimm without legs, could I?"

He laughed, and Blake couldn't help but join in as he wiggled his legs again. Before she could stop herself she was shaking with laughter, laughing out all the pain of the last few days, laughing out all the bad memories. Laughing until she broke down in a coughing fit.

"It wasn't THAT funny."  
Oobleck chuckled, before reaching out to ease her back down onto her back.  
"I'd advise you stay in bed for a while longer, you may feel fine, arm aside, but you still have a rather heavy concussion.

"Yang" blake gasped, her throat feeling like it was stuffed with cotton wool.

Oobleck grimaced, rolling back from her towards his desk. Where he searched for a space on an overstuffed bookcase for a leather bound book Ghost had left on the chair beside the bed.  
"She's alive, and stable. I promise you I have done my best to ensure that. Yet my best isn't enough to fix her, only keep her from toppling off the edge into the cold abyss so it, so i've put out some contracts on Equipment. For now all we can do is wait for the Scavengers to do their jobs, and only once i am certain i can succeed will I even try to bring her back. Patience is all I ask."

Blake breathed a sigh of relief. She'd done it, Yang was safe, and looked to be staying that way. She owed a lot to the old hunter.  
"Patience is all i have to give. "

Steeling herself. she cleared her throat to draw his attention, causing him to pause leafing through a large wad of papers and squeak back over to the bed.  
"Do you have any word on Ruby and Weiss? Ghost said there was a lot of people looking for us."

"From what I hear no one is too sure. Some report seeing someone wandering aimlessly around the Pitts, another said they found the corpses of some women buried in shallow graves by the crashed bulwark, and a rookie swears he saw two oddly dressed girls with an Executioner."

Some of the Soldiers on the bulwark had been women, so no doubt they had been the ones found buried nearby, if one of her two rogue teammates had been wandering around they would have definitely gone towards the first sign of civilisation, and with Ooblecks mention of scavengers and if the men in the Taverne last night was a gauge of the population, it was unlikely they could stay undiscovered for long. Which only left the executioner, which was not a very encouraging name.

"Whats an Executioner?"  
Blake asked, trying to stifle the worry in her voice.

"No one to worry about, theyre one of the strongest Factions, a form of militia if you will, in the Cage. Its probably for the best if they ARE with an Executioner, because thats the safest place they could hope to be."  
He paused  
"You have actually met one, he carried you in here the first time. I forget his name, but he's their de-facto leader."

"Leader?" She echoed in disbelief, why would a leader of a militia be doing ransacking rusted pillboxes? "You surely you don't mean Wolf?"

"Yes, thats him. One of the few dutiful people left in this place. Though a little paranoid at times."  
His eyes flickered to her ears.  
"Im guessing he was interested in how you got those."

"He seemed satisfied when I told him I'd had them from birth."

"No surprise really. His ethos, and that of all Executioners, is that the zone is unclean, and some tend to get rather overzealous with what counts as unclean. Two local Executioners even took a contract for a pair of Cannibals, and i've seen a few butcher their own friends if they mutate." Oobleck mused.

"Don't think bad of Wolf though, he just wants to stop it spreading."  
Ghost had emerged from deeper in the hospital, leaning against the doorframe where Oobleck had first emerged yesterday, some kind of makeshift ward for those under his care by the sound of it.

"That may be so, but he does little to stop his fellows. As their leader he should take some responsibility. Yet he is too kind to stop them, for a man who slays monstrosities he doesn't have much of a backbone."

"He has plenty of spine in him, its authority he lacks. Executioners may believe the same thing, but they're far from unified." Ghost was smiling, and Blake couldn't help but be reminded of the great arguments Oobleck had with Port, they would get so invested it looked like they would come to blows, only to laugh it off and part as friends, only to be back at it the next day. It looked like Oobleck had found a new opponent for his game.

"How is she?" Oobleck cut in, causing Ghosts smile to widen.

"She's awake, and absolutely fine!"

"Truly remarkable, a miracle in fact. Has she said anything about her father?"  
Oobleck jigged in the same way as Ruby, almost vibrating he moved so fast. Yet there was a twinge of worry in his voice.

Ghost pursed his lips. "She just changes the subject."

"No use pushing her, If you're satisfied shes fine then take her home. If she has anything to say, let her tell it in her own time."  
Oobleck chided, before his smile returned.  
"And take the rest of the day off, i think i can handle the rest myself."

Ghost smirked and nodded in reply, before slinking back into the ward.

Blake didn't know whether it was proper to ask, It seemed like quite a private matter and she didn't want to impose, but Oobleck always seemed to know, and he answered as soon as the door closed.

"Her name is Moira, after her mother. Though Most around here call her Monkey on account of her looks. Like all Children born here she's mutated, though until recently we thought she had escaped the worst of it. Then she started coughing up blood, and her father took her off into the wilderness. We thought he meant to give her mercy. Instead weeks went by and nothing was heard of them. Until four days ago when she returned, the cancerous growths that where slowly killing her completely gone, and her father with them."

Darting back to his desk he dug through the mess, finally pulling free a plain metal picture frame from between some stacked files.  
Wheeling back to the bed he handed the frame to her, the photo was of a group of young men not unlike the boys she had seen in the Taverne.  
"The Dacker Gang, treasure hunters, prospectors, and Adventurers, and the first people to enter the Cage by choice."  
He pointed to one in the middle, a grinning youth with slicked back black hair who gave the camera a mock salute.  
"That was Stalker, their leader, and the first to die. He would travel right to the heart of the zone, utterly fearless of man or beast. one day he didn't come back."

Scanning across the picture, he settled on a boy with a shock of red hair and a five o clock shadow.

"Thats Redmund Hart, Monkeys father. He was their sniper, and his spotter..."  
His hand drifted to a mousy haired girl beside him, almost hidden by the row of boys below her all flipping off the camera.  
"was her mother, Moira Soel"

His face fell, his aura dying down to a black halo as his voice went cold.  
"Redmund was the last of them, and I don't doubt he is dead. Miracles don't happen here, only trades. A life for a life"  
He sighed, his eyes flickering across their faces. His lip quivered before he clenched his teeth and hissed our a sigh.  
"They where so certain they could end it. So certain they could free everyone. Yet as the old adage says, the Cage claims everyone in the end." 

"I would ask you what happened to your arm, but in the end it doesn't matter. Nothing matters anymore Miss Belladonna, If they couldn't do It, then no one can. I will help your partner and I shall hope for your friends safety, but I must ask of you now, do not try to escape the Cage. There is no way out. Not anymore."  
Sighing, and clutching the Frame to his chest. Oobleck rolled back into the lobby, his miserable silence broken by intermittent shrieks from the rusted wheels of his Wheelchair. 

Staring up at the ceiling, and began to pray. She wasn't Religious, few Faunus where, but there was something about the look on Ooblecks face that made her feel hopeless in the way that only blind faith could ever alleviate. He was right, she couldn't do anything to help these people, but Ruby and Weiss could. So she prayed for their safety, and for their futures.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor blakey.  
> A quick note, exepct the little things to come back to Haunt us in the long run.  
> There are a lot of ways to deal with the Cage, be it a bullet, a stiff drink, or faith that whatever comes after is worth it.  
> Won't it be interresting to see how a team of Huntresses, trained to fight their way out of problems, reacts to a situation they truly cannot escape from.  
> I Emplore you keep reading, despite the odd wuirks in my writing, one could say i have two stories here, the short term story of the cage and the lingterm story of Remnant. These little quirks are my attempts to bind the two.  
> Perhaps right now they do not make much sense to you, but if i dont die first I will bring it all to a conclusion, a suitably bloody and joyless one at that.
> 
> IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND GIVING SOME FEEDBACK, IT WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.


	9. Detour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The shortest route was a detour. It was a detour that was our shortest path.

Ruby's head was pounding, her throat was parched, and every sounds ripped through her head like a well placed shot. She hadn't been drunk before, maybe a bit tipsy at one of Beacons Disco's but never actually drunk. She vaguely remembered a lot of laughing and Chariot saying something about barrels. Other than that whatever benefits drinking had where a mystery to her, and she was certainly not going to make a habit of it.

According to Chariot they where almost at Outback, and she was glad this little trip was coming to an end. Ruby guessed some could call it educational but it seemed her first day in the Birdcage had left her with more mental scars than experience, and Weiss was taking it a lot worse than her. She had considered the factor of invisible threats back at the Bandit camp, but for Weiss it must feel like every step she took could be her last, so certain that another one of those "Bug Traps" as Noble called them hung silently before her waiting to turn her into another one of those gristly Compacts like the unfortunate Vulture.

Chariots unhelpful note on there being other types of Rifts with different appearances, triggers, and effects had made her almost catatonic with fear until Noble offered her another swig of his flask and took to walking just ahead of her to prove the path was clear.

Ruby on the other hand took to walking alongside Chariot who was far more considerate of Hangovers than their boisterous companion. Though when he did speak it was with purpose and in a voice soft enough that it was bearable to her pane glass brain. 

A scream shattered the peace and her skull like a blow from a sledgehammer, and her initial shock was washed away by pain as some unseen demon crushed her skull between its paws. She felt herself being dragged, and heard Weiss' panicked shouts, before she came face to face with a living corpse. 

Hung from a tree, the carcass writhed and howled as the creature swarmed around it, tearing it apart chunk by chunk. Two shots cleared out the packs of mutated Dogs and Boar in a frenzy of snarls, but the ungodly pain erupted again as a twisted raven like creature screeched in defiance, angered at being interrupted while making a meal of the corpses face. Chariot dropped her and lunged, seizing it from its perch and slamming it into the tree until both it and the trunk broke into pieces, causing the now still corpse to drop into the grass with a heavy thud. 

Kneeling down by it, Chariot began to shift through the rags that still clung it, searching for any way to identify the dead man. Much of his lower body was gone, just enough of it remaining to confirm that it was in fact a he. His hands had been chewed up and his torso was missing chunks, with the white of bone being easily visible. The Raven creature had made a real mess of his face, with nothing remaining but his jaw muscles, some golden teeth, and a half eaten green eye, and Ruby was not surprised to hear Weiss' shouts break down into violent retching as she got in view of the remains. Noble mumbled a prayer, and raised his flask in a salute before taking a long enough drink to suggest he wasn't quite so fine with what he'd seen as his demeanour suggested.  
Chariot had stepped away from the corpse, mumbling something to himself, eyes wide.

\----  
The scenery changed, the world twisting unnaturally around her as the sky went dark, with a black sun glowing high in the sky.

Leon stood before her, the same arrogant smile as always plastered across his face.

"He says you're legit, well done."

One ethereal hand reached out and flicked her on the nose.

\-----

And she was back, her hangover gone and a slight warmth radiating from the golden gauntlet strapped on her left arm. Refocusing on the world around her she saw Chariot was beating at the rotten remains of the trees trunk, which splintered easily under his blows. Noble and Weiss stood sullenly beside her, neither quite knowing what to do aside from look anywhere but at the corpse or Chariot. Something inside her compelled her to do the same, yet the heat in the gauntlet defied her to slap some sense into the raging bull that was their only way to Outback.

Steeling herself, she stepped cautiously towards the hulking man, his armour hissing out a warning as he tore the remains of the stump out and threw it hard enough to unsteady himself and bring him down to one knee, breathing heavily.

"Are you okay?" She asked, her mind too filled with thoughts of that unpleasantly large knife on his shoulder and what he could do with it when enraged to think of a better question.

"Strung up to die like a dog" Chariot hissed through his respirator, his glowing visor masking his expression.  
"I'm by no fucking means alright, Hoodie, but I'd say ripping out their living goddamn guts out and using them to grease my suits rig."

He jabbed one finger at the corpse as if to suggest the bloody cadaver had all the answers she needed, and indeed it had a few. The gold teeth where engraved with a name, Oak, and part of the dead mans chin had been removed, not torn by tooth or claw but cut off, and on the bare bone beneath was carved a string of numbers.

"Coordinates. Don't know whats there, but we've got enough firepower to make whatever we find regret its choice in residence." Chariot lowered his head again and continued to breath heavily as he stared into the middle distance.

"Fire power? Theres four of us and barely a weapon between us!" Ruby said, suddenly fearful that this fucked up adventure wouldn't be over as soon as she'd hoped. She couldn't bear the thought of a detour so close to the end.

"We have You and Schnee with your hunter magic, me with my Thermo, and Noble's...."  
He looked over at the boy, who had settled into another uncomfortable looking pose.   
"What DO you have?"

Noble smiled the smile of a man who knew a lot more than you and was determined to keep it that way.  
"My dashing good looks"

"Alright, you can dazzle them to death I suppose." Chariot rose, his anger shifting to determination as he strokes his rifle. "You'll be tracking though, My PDA was blown by a Spark."

Nobles smile faded, "Wr can't do that, my PDAs private."

"No one here wants to see whatever fucked up porn you got on there, believe you me, but You're the only one with the right maps, and we know going to Outback isn't an option." He turned to Ruby  
"Forgot to tell you, theres a contract out on your team, so going near any settlements could delay us for weeks. Meaning these guys will be long gone, and we don't want that."

Ruby wasn't so sure, though Chariots rifle raised some valid points as he spun its cylinder, each rattling spin like a saw across her nerves as his visor stared unblinkingly through her. She knew he wasn't threatening her, so far as she knew he wasn't the type, but she still felt as if following the men was important. Ozpin had said to have faith, so she would have faith in her gut. 

"Fine, but after this you have a lot of explaining to do."  
\-----

Shipping containers scattered the plains. They hadn't been placed there, they where just lying around like everything else she'd seen, left to rust.

Noble had rushed on ahead, his childish laughter echoing out from somewhere in the steel maze. Despite herself, Ruby smiled. At most Noble must have been 16, and though a place like this must have forced him to grow up quickly, he still held onto that childish excitement. A little like she had, except unlike her it was still untainted by the stress of adult life, the whole cage felt like that, cut off from the rest of remnant and its responsibilities. Even chariot had that air about him, as if life ended at the edge of the Cage.

Chariot only spared a glance at each container, long enough to scan for clues of his prey. Some at the edge of the Maze had been torn open and looted, but deeper in they where untouched. He talked as they trudged through the loamy muck, about the Cage, and the people in it. He explained the mark on his armour as the sigil of his order, the executioners, and he explained just who the Carron brothers had been, Scavengers who had eaten their dead comrades to survive and gotten a taste for it, to an Executioner cannibalism was a form of the Corruption they worked to cleanse, so he and Oak had taken the contract to find them and dispense their own justice. He explained what he knew of the Cage, how the first explorers had divided up the Cage into three zones, from the relatively safe blue Zone, onto the dangerous and Mutant infested Red zone, and finally the Black zone, right at the heart of the Cage, where the rifts grew so bad reality itself seemed to distort. He believed the heart of the Corruption lay somewhere in there.

He spun stories of the Cage's many superstitions. The "happy ghosts" that dance among the treetops on clear nights said to be the freed souls of slain mutants. The Oasis in a lost cave with water that heals all ailments. The song of the Green Maiden which gave those who heard it vivid visions of the future, and most covetous of all, the Wish Granter. While Chariot believed the sum of all evil within the Cage lay at the centre of the Black Zone, most believed that there, within the Church of the small town of Wormwood was the Wish Granter. Only one man had ever reached Wormwood and lived to tell of it, and it was said he had loved the Cage so wholly that while he had stood before the wish granter many a time he could never bring himself to wish for its destruction.

He stopped talking as they neared a ring of containers. Beside the "entrance" to the ring was a metal sign post with an octagonal sign written in some language she didn't understand, though she assumed from the thunderbolt icon that it meant high voltage. Noble was perched on a container, which ruby saw had an Oak leaf spray painted onto its door. From a bright red container near the back of the ring came the sound of men arguing, followed by laughter. Their speech was indistinguishable but they didn't seem to notice their presence, and hadn't even placed a guard. Drawing his rifle Chariot marched over to the container, he reached for the handle, then froze. Stepping back her raised Thermo to his shoulder and fired.

The world went white. Ruby felt herself lifted off her feet before being violently slammed back down. her vision swam before her and her head felt like it was cracking. Everything around her was unbearably hot and she felt nauseated from the cruel dry heat. Her rifle was gone, but as the high pitched whining died out she heard the crack of gunfire, finally she remembered how to breath, and the world expanded before her eyes as air rushed into her aching lungs. Her skin burned and her eyes were dried and hazy, but nothing was burst or broken.

Chariot had struggled to his feet but something slammed into him and he was knocked out of sight, his rifle clattering to the ground where he had stood. Scanning her surroundings she saw things swarming from holes in the shipping containers, bulky brown scaled things with heads weighed down by jaws filled with oversized fangs. By the look of it they were blind, but as Noble continued to fire down at them they rushed towards him with warbling shrieks. 

Weiss was gone. Some of the creatures showed signs of being burnt and one was pinned to the ground by an icicle, but by the look of it she'd fled back into the maze. She was smart, she knew she wasn't suited to crowd control, especially without Myrtenaster, so she'd taken the fight to the narrow spaces between the containers.   
Ruby had been worried about her before, but this proved she was back in her element.

There was a crash and Noble screamed. Her train of through broken, Ruby scanned her surroundings for a weapon, settling on the broken remains of the high voltage sign, which was probably as close as she'd be getting to a decent melee weapon any time soon. Making a makeshift handle from a strip of her jacket she steadied herself before charging across the ring at the swarm.

\-----

Wherever Weiss was it was very far from her element. Those snapping nightmares had chased her into off into the containers and made her drop her pipe, so she couldn't even fight them. Cradling her bloody wrist she was at least thankful she hadn't ended up like Blake. She then immediately regretted thinking about it when she realised she would be in much worse a state if the creatures found her. They seemed to be drawn to sound so running would bring them right at her, therefore curling up in a gap between two containers was actually the smart approach, not the cowardly one. Totally not the cowardly one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got stuck on the final bit for a few days, sorry about that.
> 
> Now even worse news (kinda, i mean i dont have any readers so its not like anyones gonna be affected) in that im going on Hiatus for a bit because i've got another Fic I was doing for a project.
> 
> Well i got kicked out of the project because I dared to have an opinion, but my artist was super cool enough to want to still work with me so I'm gonna put my all in and try to make something worthy of their art!
> 
> Anyway i'll probably only be away for as long as it usually takes me to write a fucking chapter but i thought i'd say it anyway so its official.
> 
> Oh yeah, Happy New Year!


End file.
